First Falcon Pipe and Refinishing

[durham270]

This is my first Falcon and I'm looking forward to smoking it. It came pretty dirty so I cleaned it up then decided to do some further restoring. Here are some before and after photos of the small project completed on this rainy Derby Day Saturday in Kentucky.
Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

 

[jah76]

Damn homes.
That's the first rusticated Falcon bowl I've liked. Telling you. It's a great driving pipe. Plus you get this mini air pocket effect in the bottom. I don't want a while flock of them but I really do enjoy having one. It's got it's own characteristics and personality.

 

[captainsousie]

Very nice, never had a Falcon so I don't know how they smoke but I do like the look of that one.

 

[ejames]

The "after" is much better! Like the contrast of the bowl colors!

 

[plateauguy]

Just got an estate Falcon with a new meerschaum bowl. I really like the rustic bowl. What did you use to clean/sterilize the metal stem?

 

[bentmike]

Cool Falcon restoration. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

 

[stylus156]

Nice work...what did you use on the metal?
Respectfully,

M.

 

[durham270]

Thanks guys!
stylus156, I just use a Dremel tool along with marine polishing compound and those Dremel white buffing pads. Seems to take off all marks and discoloration in the metal. Then i apply a layer of Carnauba wax to bring on the shine.

 

[jah76]

Hey Dur. How are you liking that Falcon?
I really like mine for Englishes. It's a nice "diversion" pipe. Although I do get more second glances because of the metal I think.

 

[durham270]

Hey Jah, I like it really well. Mine has been devoted to Aromatics, mainly Stokkebye Peaches & Cream. Glad to hear you like yours!

 

[kashmir]

Can't go wrong with a Falcon. Great pipes. Keep your eye out for a Falcon Shellalaigh. They have a twisted stem. They pop up now and then on the estate market. Kathy Worth, great grand daughter of one of the owners wrote a cool book on the history of the Falcon pipe. It's on Amazon. And she sells old vintage Falcons on eBay from her grandfathers old stock.

 

[wyfbane]

+1 Kashmir
I bought one of those Shillelaghs from her. She is an amazing seller. Although the last one I saw her post was quite a bit more than I paid for mine.
The beauty of her stuff is that it is virutally all new/unsmoked Falcons that are quite vintage. I won't ever smoke mine. So i had to go on ebay and get a used one to smoke.
Disclaimer: I do not work for the Falcon lady, ebay, or any other party involved in the above post.

 

[kashmir]

Here's a pic of my Falcon Shellalaigh.

Just something about that twist ...

 

[ricospipe]

Falcon Pipe Restore
This is my second restore. The first one was relatively easy.

I seem to be running into “stuff” with this one
I acquired a Falcon pipe at a consignment store today & I’m so far unable to remove the mouthpiece.
The stem hole is very small, I just barely got a pipe cleaner through it – with great difficulty. Surprisingly, the cleaner came through clean.
Any suggestions on an easier way to regularly clean it?
For restoring, I was thinking of putting the whole stem in OxyClean, but the package says do not soak metals.
To sterilize it, can I soak the whole stem in alcohol since the pipe cleaner is so hard to use?
Ultimately, I would like to remove it and replace it with a Lucite stem.

(That’s a whole series of questions for another time!)
Rico

 

[loneredtree]

Rico. Did the stem come out in the first restore? I thought that they were not removable.

 

[ricospipe]

loneredtree,
Sorry if I wasn't clear, I nt this is my 2nd restore I've done.

This is my first time restoring a Falcon.

If you say they're noit removable, that answers my question why I can't remove it!
Thanks

Rico

 

[uberam3rica]

I have two Falcons. A straight and a full bent one. Both smoke great.

 

[ricospipe]

Uberam3rica,
What do you use to clean them?

My local B&Ms don't have slim enough pipe cleaners.

Any recommendations?
Thanks

Rico

 

[durham270]

I think all the stems on Falcons are removable, at least it is on mine but it took a little force but it came off ok. Best of luck restoring yours and hope to see images of the before and after rico!

 

[plateauguy]

My stem wouldn't come off, and I didn't want to ruin it. While I was outside, my wife thought she would help me and soak the pipe (minus bowl) in purex water to sterilize it. This was NOT the thing to do.
When she pulled it out it was darkened, and splotchy. Thanks to Mother's Mag Cleaner and a lot of elbow grease it is now bright and shiny. Since she felt so bad about "helping", my wife ordered a new bowl from 4noggins.
I find that I really enjoy smoking the Falcon on a hot day, it's a cooler smoke. When I get another bowl this is going to become my travel pipe.